Wrench.



W. JACOBY.

WRENCH. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 13. 19H

Patented Oct. 16, 1917.

. .3 a 2% 1 m j H E 7 p IQE.

WILLIAM JAGOBY, OF SIOUX FALLS, SOUTH DAKOTA, ASSIGNOB T0 AUTOMATIC TOOL SUPPLY (20., OF SIOUX FALLS, SOUTH DAKOTA, A CORPORATION OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

WRENCH.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Oct. 16, 1917.

Application filed June 13, 1917. Serial No. 174,532.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that-I, W'ILLIAM J ACOBY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sioux Falls, in the county of Minnehaha and State of South Dakota, have invented cer tain new and useful Improvements ;in Wrenches; and I do hereby declare the fol lowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in wrenches, more especially to that type of wrench known as the ratchet wrench.

The general object of the invention is the provision of an exceedingly reliable and eflicient ratchet wrench construction embodying movable jaws whereby the wrench may be quickly adjusted to accommodate nuts of diiferent sizes, and in which the jaws, when adjusted in position on a nut, will be effectively locked against displacement relatively to the nut.

With the above and other objects in View, the invention consists in certain novel constructions, arrangements and combinations of parts hereinafter described in a preferred form and particularly pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a plan view of a wrench constructed in accordance with the present improvements.

Fig. 2 is a side longitudinal elevation of the same.

Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section on the line 33 of Fig. 1 showing the jaws in normal position. I

Fig. 1 is a view similar to Fig. 3, but showing the jaws after they have been advanced toward each other in position for clamping.

a nut.

Flg. 5 1s a transverse vertlcal sectlon on the line 5 5 of Fig. 1-.

Like characters of reference in the several figures indicate the same parts.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the wrench handle is indicated by a the reference character 1, said handle being of relatively large diameter and a lower portion 5, 'of slightly reduced diameter whereby an inner annular flange 6 is formed within the head. 2, for a purpose which will presently appear. The cylindrical bore 3 constitutes a bearing in which a jaw' carrier 7 is rotatably mounted. Said jawcarrier includes in its construction a hollow cylindrical member 8, the outer wall of which is provided with an annular laterally-projecting flange 9 adapted to rest on the annular flange 6 of the wrench head, when the jaw carrier is inserted in the bore thereof from the top of the wrench, as viewed in Figs. 3, 4 and 5. The flanges 6 and 9 constitute a stop preventing axial displacement of the cylindrical jaw carrier in one direction, but without preventing free relative r0 tation of the jaw carrier and wrench head. For locking said carrier on the headagainst axial displacement in the opposite direc tion, the cylindrical member thereof is threaded at its lower end which projects beyond the bottom face of the wrench head, as shown at 10, and screwed on said threaded portion 10 of the jaw carrier is a locking ring 11 adapted to abut against the bottom face of the wrench head.

The jaw carrier 7 is intended for the support of the jaws, and for this purpose the interior of the cylindrical member 8 is provided with a pair of diametrically oppositely disposed segmental members 12 se cured to the cylindrical member 8 in any preferred manner, with the arcuate faces of the segmental members abutting against the inner cylindrical face of the member 8. Each segmental member is formed with a pair of spaced bearing sockets 13 extending from the plane face of the cylindrical member and located in, line with the pair of similarly spaced sockets in the other member.

' Pivoted in each pair of oppositely disposed alined sockets 13 is the lower end of a jaw shank 14, there being studs 15- respectively projecting laterally from the opposite edges of each jaw shank, which studs enter the oppositely disposed sockets '13. The pair of shanks are thus mounted in such manner in the segmental bearings of the jaw carrier that they may move toward and away from each other on axes transverse with respect to the axis of the carrier. For normally keeping the jaw shanks apart, springs 16 are secured within recesses 17 formed in the plane faces of the segmental members. Each spring is provided at its opposite ends with-projections 18, which respectively fit springs 16, the cylindrical member-8 of the "jaw carrier '7 maybe provided with diametrically "opposite cut away portions 8 through which pass'the lateral extensions 22 of the jaws, see Fig. 3. The under horizontal face of the lateral extension of each jaw is downwardly curved or arcuate as shown at'23, and the curved faces of said extensions are engaged by suitable means hereinafter described for =moving the jaws toward each other to force the gripping faces of said heads into firm'clamping en- 'gagement with-a nutto which the wrench is 'tions 26 connected by depressed portions 27.

applied. I

J ournaled on the cylindrical member of the jaw carrier is a jaw shifting ring 24' located-above the upper face of the wrench head 2 and rotatable on an axis substantially coincident with the axis of rotation of the jaw carrier and in a plane fixed with respect to the wrench head. The outer cylindrical face of said ring is formed with teeth 25 and the upper end face of the same is formed to constitute a cam face having diametrically opposite, inclined raised por- The altitudes of the respective raised portions' are, it will be noted, substantially parallel with the axis of rotation of both the jaw carrierand jaw shifting ring. Said cam face engages the curved faces of the lateral extensions of the respective jaws, and on movement of the ring relatively to the jaw carrier'to bringithe inclined raised portions 26 of the cam face into juxtaposition with the' lateral extensions of the jaws, the latter are forced or shifted toward each other, thereby advancing the gripping faces soas-tocause them'to grip a nut positioned between them. On further movement of the ring 25 to bring the depressed portions 27 -of the cam faceinto juxtaposition with the lateralextensions of the-jaws, the latter are permitted to move apart under the tension of the springs 16 interposed between thejaw shanks whereby the jaws :are released from gripping engagement with a nut and the wrench may be quickly detached from :the nut.

'Mounted on the wrench handle and cooperable with the toothed portion of the jaw-shifting ring, is a reversible detent mechanism consisting preferably of the following instrumentalities :'A pawl 28 pivoted on the handle is provided with a head having two prongs or fingers 29, separated some little distance from each other, as shown in Fig. 1. Pivotal movement of the pawl in one direction, will bring one finger of the pawl into engagement with the toothed portion of the ring on onev side .ofltheilatter and concurrently move the other finger I which is located on the other side of the jaw-shifting ring, out-of engagement with the toothed portion of the latterv Accordingly, by an adjustment of the pawl 28, the

jaw-shifting ring may be locked against rotation relatively'to the wrench head'r2: in either direction. When so locked against such relative rotation, however, the pawl permits rotation of the jaw-shifting. ring in reverse direction. For shifting the pawl, thereis provided a pivoted lug 30 having a curved face31 adapted to enter a pocket formed by the curved end 32 of the pawlopposite'to the pronged end thereof. Saidpivoted lug -50 is provided with a plunger 38 extending into v a socket formed in the lug and-pressed outwardly from the curvedface of the lug into engagement with the curved end 32 of the pawl by means of a spring '34: located in the socket behind the inner end of the plunger. The spring permits the pawl. and plunger to yield' when the aw-shifting ring is rotated reversely to the direction in which the latter is locked against rotation relativelyto the wrench head.

The operation of the above described ratchet wrench is as follows :Assuming that a nut provided with a right hand thread. 1 is to be applied to a bolt, the pawl28 is adj usted by shifting the lug 30 so as to prevent relative rotation of the j aw-shifting ring and wrench head and handle, toward the right (i. 6., toward the left in Fig. 1 as the wrench; is shown upside down). The wrenchis then applied to the nut, which may be effected by first adjusting the jaw-shifting ring 25 so that the depressed-portions 27 of its cam face are in juxtaposition with the lateral extensions of the jaws,.permitting the jaws to spring apart and be passed over the nut. The wrench is then moved toward the right. As the jaw-shiftingzring25 isilockediagainst rotation toward the right relativelyito the wrench head, said ring and wrench move relatively to thejaw carrier 7, bringing the raised-portionsfidof the cam face into engagement' with the lateral extensions of the jaws, and thereby forcing the latterintofirm gripping engagement with-the nut. When such gripping engagement takes place, the

jaws cannot move farther inwardly "and hence no further relative movement can take place between: the aw carrier. and the jaw shifting ring. All the parts are consequently locked together, and the wrench may then be operated back and forth in the manner of an ordinary ratchet wrench to tighten up the nut. WVhen it is desired to remove the wrench from the nut, the ring 25 may be locked against rotation toward the left relatively to the wrench head and the ring and head rotated in that direction, whereupon the relative rotation of the ring and jaw carrier will cause the depressed portions 27 of the cam face to move again into juxtaposition with the lateral extensions of the jaws, permitting the latter to free themselves from the nut. Or the ring may be shifted manually by first adjusting the pawl to neutral position, wherein neither of the prongs 29 are in engagement with the teeth of the ring. hen the pawl is in neutral position, the ring may be rotated freely relatively to the wrench head and jaw carrier.

In applying a nut provided with a left hand thread or unscrewing a nut with a right hand thread, the operation is just the reverse as that heretofore described.

hat is claimed is:

1. A wrench comprising, in combination, a handle formed with a head, a jaw carrier rotatably mounted in the head, jaws mounted on said jaw carrier and movable toward and from each other, elastic means acting to urge said jaws apart, a jaw-shifting ring rotatably mounted on the jaw carrier, and provided with a cam surface engageable with said jaws to move them toward each other on relative rotation of the jaw carrier and ring, and means for locking said aw-shifting ring against rotation relatively to the head in one direction while permitting such relative rotation in the opposite direction.

2. A wrench comprising, in combination, a handle formed with a head, a jaw carrier rotatably mounted in the head, jaws mounted on said jaw carrier and movable toward and from each other, elastic means acting to urge said aws apart, a toothed aw-shifting ring rotatably mounted on the jaw carrier and provided with a cam surface engageable with said jaws to move them toward each other on relative rotation of the jaw carrier and ring, and reversible detent mechanism adapted to engage a tooth of the jaw shifting ring for locking the same against rotation relatively to the head in one direction while permitting such rotation in the opposite direction, substantially as described. 3. A wrench comprising, in combination, a handle formed with a head, a jaw carrier rotatably mounted in the head, jaws mounted on the jaw carrier, each jaw being movable toward and away from the other jaw on an axis transverse to the axis of rotation of the jaw carrier, a j aw-shifting ring journaled on the jaw carrier and rotatable in a plane fixed with relation to the head on an axis substantially coincident with the axis of the jaw carrier, said jaw-shifting ring being formed with opposite inclined faces engageable with the jaws, whereupon rotation of the ring on its axis moves the jaws toward each other, and means for locking said ring against rotation relatively to the head in one direction while permitting such relative rotationin the opposite direction.

4-. A wrench comprising, in combination, a handle formed with a head, a jaw carrier rotatably mounted in the head, jaws mounted on the jaw carrier, each jaw being movable toward and away from the other jaw on an axis transverse to the axis of rotation of the jaw carrier, a jaw-shifting ring journaled on the jaw carrier and rotatable in a plane fixed with relation to the head on an axis substantially coincident with the axis of the jaw carrier, the end face of said ring being formed with opposite inclined portions and the jaws being provided with lateral extensions engageable by said opposite inclined portions, whereupon rotation of said ring on its axis is effective to move the jaws toward each other, and means for locking said ring against rotation relatively to the head in one direction, while permitting such relative rotation in the opposite direction.

WILLIAM J AGOBY.

Copies of this patent may be obta ined for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington. D. C." 

